Margaret C. Wang, LMFT Psychotherapist

Margaret C. Wang, LMFT Psychotherapist Margaret C. Wang, LMFT offers psychotherapy in the state of California via telehealth. Wang, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, IMF #132544
M.A.

Santa Clara University Counseling Psychology

I offer individual and group therapy via phone and video, while ensuring that the telehealth medium is secured and confidential. Maybe you look amazing on paper but your insides don't mirror that. Or you feel stuck and your fears are holding you back. I'm excited to tell you that you can get everything done EVEN IF it doesn't seem like there's enough time in the day. When working with clients, my focus is on making sure that you feel heard and understood. I find that it is so important to approach my work with non-judgment and openness. Whether you are working through intergenerational trauma, or are hoping to overcome symptoms of depression, I am here. I find that it's imperative that we collaborate and you determine your goals because you know yourself best. I’m here to help you better manage whatever circumstances are leaving you feeling helpless, and I will equip you with the skills to cope with difficult emotions.

10/30/2025

Managing Depression (Not ‘Fixing’ It)
Depression doesn’t usually just “go away.”
For most people, it’s something you manage on an ongoing basis. Here are a few things that can help:

1. Depression can look different for everyone. For some, it’s hard to get out of bed. For others, even returning a text feels exhausting. There’s no need to judge yourself for how your depression shows up — dealing with the symptoms is already hard enough.

2. Identify your early warning signs.
These are signals that you may need to pause, reevaluate your needs, and prioritize your basic sense of safety and care.

3. Share what you’re experiencing with trusted people. When possible, delegate responsibilities or ask for accountability and support.

If depression feels heavy right now, you’re not alone in it. Feel free to DM me.

10/28/2025

When Journaling Doesn’t Work:
Try This Instead

If you find that journaling works for you, this video might not be for you.

1) Identify your emotions on a 1-5 scale.
The key is to build self-awareness around your emotions.

Here's an example:
5=overwhelmed
4= stressed
3= anxious
2=content
1=calm

2) You might be used to intellectualizing, instead of accessing your emotions at a physical level.

3) Start developing skills to tolerate uncomfortable feelings. Sit with the discomfort for 2 minutes.

If you're feeling stuck,
feel free to DM me, and let's chat.

10/27/2025

How to worry on purpose (and feel better). This is one of my favorite exercises if you're dealing with anxious feelings.

▶️Create a “worry container.”
Get a jar/box, anything with a lid. Set aside 20-30 min/day, at around the same time each day. Ensure that you're doing this at least 3-4 hrs before you go to bed, so that your sleep is not impacted by these thoughts.

▶️ Externalize what's on your mind.
Record thoughts, feelings, and triggers associated with your worry. Example: Let's say that you're worried about your to-do list. During this exercise, you'd write down everything associated with your to-do list, the anxiety, the overwhelming feelings, what makes it feel hard, etc. After 20-30 min, you close the jar or box, and you put it away for the day.

▶️Let your body learn safety.
I appreciate this exercise, because if you do this consistently, your body will begin to trust that it's safe to feel emotions. Once you close the jar, you're metaphorically setting things aside until tomorrow. It's a parallel to the process of therapy, such that both create a safe, contained space to process feelings.

NOTE: This exercise is NOT a replacement for therapy, but an additional tool.

If you're feeling anxious, feel free to DM me, and let's talk.

10/24/2025

When feelings feel inconvenient.

1) There's a biological mechanism underlying feelings; feelings indicate that we need to attend to something. Example: Anxiety might indicate a greater need for reassurance or understanding.

2) We might have to accept that feelings are just that; we might need to acknowledge that we might not be understood by others. We might have to accept that feelings are messy and that we have to set aside time to sit with them.

3) It takes time to undo these ingrained patterns.

If you feel frustrated by your feelings, feel free to DM me, and let's chat!

10/23/2025

What Happens When You’re
Already Burnt Out?

This isn't a one-size-fits-all kind of situation, but here's what you can do if you need some action steps in the short-term:

▶️Find people that you can trust and those that make you feel understood. These people might help you identify ways that you can delegate.

▶️Think of some activity that you've always wanted to try. Why now? In this state of burnout, it's even more important to find meaning and something to look forward to throughout the week.

▶️Accept that you might need to make drastic changes. It can be humbling to accept that piece, and it's hard!

4) Seek professional help

If you're struggling with burnout, feel free to DM me, and let's chat.

10/22/2025

When Your Obligations Clash With Your Needs
▶️Start with your physical needs:
An example: when your body is telling you to slow down, listen to it.

▶️It’s in the moments when you slow down that you can actually hear your needs. Let yourself feel an emotion without rushing past or avoiding it.

▶️ Try neutral statements: “It’s okay if I feel obligated AND I’m still going to take care of what I need.”

10/20/2025

Feeling guilty for doing something good for yourself?
You might have received early messages that you had to earn your worth — that love or care was conditional.

Here are some short-term steps you can try:

1️⃣ Start small.
This could look like giving yourself more time in your morning routine — for example, 45 minutes instead of 30.

2️⃣ Remind yourself that others don’t have to understand.
The change only needs to be meaningful to you, not anyone else.

3️⃣ Expect some discomfort.
You can gently tell yourself, “It’s okay if this feels uncomfortable,” or
“I still feel guilty — and I’m going to do it anyway.”

10/16/2025

📺When the news is personal & how to
deal with it.

Here are some things that you can do in the short-term:

▶️Talk about it with safe people and come up with an emergency plan. It's validating to talk about it with those who understand, and this provides a space to pinpoint what's in and out of our control.

▶️Maintain agency:
Some examples: volunteering, protesting, sharing with social media, or going to therapy. When you give up your sense of agency, you reinforce feelings of powerlessness, making it harder to cope with stress.

▶️Stay informed & go easy on yourself:
Take breaks and listen to your internal cues.

💬 If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed by the news lately, DM me

#

10/16/2025

✨️Is self-love overrated? It's not that it's not important; it's how we approach it.

Here are some things that you can do in the short-term:

▶️ Inner child work may assist with the process. Through this type of work, we address unmet childhood needs.

An example: Let's say that you get a negative reaction from someone in the parking lot. Let's address what the each part of you might think or say: the child version of you is scared, the inner teenager within you might want to flip the person off, and the adult version of you might glare at the person. If we don't address what the other parts of us are thinking/feeling, then these parts of us will continue to be ignored. This act of acknowledging those parts of ourselves is counter to what we were able to do when we were little kids. As a result, it becomes healing to listen and acknowledge these parts of ourselves.

▶️Reframe self-talk to something neutral: we don't have to go to the extreme with self-compassionate statements if that doesn't feel aligned.

The key is to focus on non-judgmental statements,
🪞"It's okay if you feel okay about yourself", or
🪞"You're an okay human being. "

▶️Try not to push away what you're feeling. You start to build a pattern of listening to your body, and your body takes that as a form of self-love. Every time you listen to an internal cue, you're reinforcing that you're worth those steps.

10/09/2025

What therapists won’t tell you when therapy isn’t working

Note: this doesn’t apply to all clients or all therapists — these are my personal observations.

1️⃣ Advocate for yourself if something isn’t working. That could mean changing therapy goals, asking your therapist to be more direct, or exploring a different approach.
Note: People new to therapy might not be in a place to advocate for themselves yet — and that’s okay.

2️⃣ It can take time for your body to feel safe enough to open up in therapy. You might notice that it’s easier to intellectualize or use humor as a way to deflect — this is a normal protective response.

3️⃣ Sometimes it’s not the right fit. Therapy works best when it’s a two-way street: your therapist needs to be receptive and nonjudgmental, and you need to feel safe enough to be open to the process.

💬 If you’ve ever wondered whether therapy “isn’t working” for you, DM me — let’s unpack what might be getting in the way.

10/09/2025

As therapists, we don’t have everything figured out in our personal lives.🫣

1️⃣ We might have the skills—but that doesn’t mean we always use them. We might not practice our breathing exercises in the supermarket when it would be ideal. Most of us consult, and hopefully, we have friends and colleagues who can check us when we need it.

2️⃣ We might not specialize in every area, so you can’t expect us to know what to do—or be perfect—in areas outside our expertise. For example, I specialize in working with adults with anxiety and depression, but I don’t have specialized training in couples therapy. So, I shouldn’t be the person you turn to for that—and it wouldn’t make sense to assume I’d have it all figured out in my own relationship. (We also have to acknowledge our blind spots when it comes to our personal lives.)

3️⃣ Yes, we too have our own “stuff” to process in therapy. Doing our own work allows us to show up as grounded, nonjudgmental therapists for our clients.

💬 Therapy is a space for both clients and therapists to grow. If you want to learn more about how therapy can support you, DM me.

10/07/2025

🌪How chaos can be tied to family dysfunction:
Maybe you’re used to feeling like you’re always waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Here are some examples: you might wait until the last minute to complete a task or feel like you always have to be doing something.

Here are some things you can do in the short term:
1️⃣ Acknowledge familiar patterns. These behaviors might feel “normal” to you because they’re what you grew up with—and that can make them harder to break.
2️⃣ Practice being present. Try breathing exercises, sitting with uncomfortable feelings, setting a timer and staying off your phone for 5 minutes, or naming an emotion you’re experiencing in the moment.
3️⃣ Notice your body’s signals. If you feel tension in your chest or catch yourself breathing shallowly, can you pause and listen to what your body is telling you?

💬 If you recognize yourself in this post, DM me — let’s chat about what breaking this cycle could look like.

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